“Remember your highest meditation,
Then with your determination
And eagerness,
Give life to that imagination.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Sometimes, meditation comes easily and effortlessly. Other times, no matter how hard we try, we can’t escape a maze of thoughts and distractions. We’re like a bird, which despite running and flapping its wings, just can’t get off the ground.
At such times, one of the most effective techniques to launch us into flight, is also the simplest: just remember once when you had a good meditation.
Consciously recall a particular time when you had a deep and satisfying meditation, and make that memory the focus of today’s attempt. Recreate every detail of the scene in your imagination – the sights, sounds, impressions and most importantly, the feelings of that experience. Surrender to the essence of that meditation-moment and absorb yourself fully in the thrill of its expansiveness, soaring beauty, unconditional love, clarity, freedom and all-immersive oneness.
It is very helpful to keep a spiritual diary, in which we record impressions of lofty meditation experiences. Then when the time comes to re-read what we have written, a particular word or phrase might be the trigger to unleash an inner flood of bliss – first in our imagination, and then for real, blossoming in our heart as conscious reality.
Just as remembering traumatic events brings forward negative thoughts and emotions, and recreating happy or funny moments produces an immediate smile, so recalling a good meditation can effectively revive the breath and reignite the flame of that meditation within us.
As meditation is self-discovery, every profound meditation is a glimpse of the spiritual treasure we house. This treasure never goes away, though it sometimes hides or is covered over. The act of remembering removes that veil, and lo! – we are inhaling sublime meditation.